Promises (Book One of The Syrenka Series) Read online

  Promises

  Book One of The Syrenka Series

  by Amber Garr

  Copyright © 2011 Amber Garr

  Smashwords Edition

  http://www.ambergarr.com

  This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.

  Cover Design by PhatPuppyArt

  Acknowledgements

  I would most graciously like to thank my group of beta readers who have taken time out of their busy lives to help make this book possible. To my mom, Sandy, Elizabeth, Jocelyn, and Erin…I can never thank you enough for your encouragement. This is something that means a lot to me and I am so glad that you have been a part of this process. And also thanks to my friends and coworkers who have been tremendously supportive of my endeavor.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Betrayal Chapter 1

  About the Author

  One

  I barely heard her parting words as the screen door slammed shut. My head was spinning in desperation as the anger coursed through my bones. “Get back in here Eviana!” she continued to scream at me. “We are not finished with this conversation!”

  I was already racing down the deck stairs towards the sandy beach, kicking off my shoes and unbuttoning my blouse. We are for now, I thought as my blood boiled with rage and resentment. I was going to be trapped! How dare they? This was not the eighteenth century anymore! I had rights!

  I stumbled onto the sand, taking just a brief moment to savor the warmth and the feeling of the grains massaging my toes. My shirt came off and I started to unzip my jeans. No one was around. But I wouldn’t care anyway. The water was calling me and it was the only voice that I could hear now. With one pant leg off, I hopped along in my forward progression until the other one was free. My oasis was so close now that I could taste the salt in the air. The sun broke free of a cloud, stopping me for a moment. It was late afternoon and the sunset was still a few hours away, but the sky was already turning multiple shades of pink and orange; the coloration reminding me of the inside of a brilliant conch shell.

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I knew that there was going to be hell to pay when I returned to the house. Marguerite, my mother, had tolerated my rebellious behavior when I was younger, giving me more freedom and second chances than anyone in our clan. But apparently now, at seventeen, I was an adult. Adult enough to bear children. Adult enough to participate in clan gatherings. Adult enough to navigate our youth through their transition period. But not adult enough to choose who to love.

  A slight breeze wafted off the ocean, bringing with it scents that filled my gut with longing. The freedom of the ocean. Why couldn’t I just stay there forever? A gull called overhead, beckoning me to join him. The splashing waves calmed my inner rage as they ebbed and flowed in a hypnotic pattern. A distant moan of a shipping vessel reminded me of our history. I opened my eyes to see that I was standing alone along miles of sandy beach interlaced with large rocks and cliffs emblematic of the northern California coast. So beautiful. I stripped off the rest of my clothes and ran into the ocean.

  As soon as I was under the water, I could feel the transition begin. My lower body ached as the bones adjusted from a life on land to one at sea. Both legs began to fuse together and work as one. My foot bones elongated while I prepared for the agony. I was accustomed to the changes now, but it was still a struggle of mind over matter. Breaking through the surface of the water, I grabbed one last breath before the final jolt of pain ravaged through my body. I bit my bottom lip and squeezed my eyes shut willing the moment to be over. At last I felt an electric tingle move from my hips to my toes as the hardened iridescent, scales appeared on the bottom half of my body. I opened my eyes to find that the internal transformation was complete as well. My vision cleared. My lungs expanded. I could hear for miles. I was free.

  So I swam. I swam away from the shore and the house that I lived in. I swam away from my fears and obligations as though they could disappear with the distance. I would temporarily forget my responsibilities, my duties, and the argument with my mother. In here, I wasn’t trapped. The sea was my true home. I was a mermaid and this was my world.

  The sun was breaking through the water, highlighting the kelp and creating a kaleidoscope of light beams piercing the blue depths of the ocean. Gathering up all of the negative energy, I smiled and thrust that power into my movement. I darted over and under and around the light beams, challenging myself not to hit any of the massive algal trees. I chased the fish and raced with the sea otters, laughing as they tried to decide if I was friend or foe. My hair flowed behind me like a golden cape while I dove to the sea floor and skimmed over the bottom like a fighter jet. In a daring move that most of my clan members would find disgraceful and childish, I pumped my tail and hurdled towards the surface. As I broke free from the water, I caught a glimpse of the shoreline miles away where my house was barely visible. Flying through the air like a circus performer, I gathered my breath just before diving to the ocean depths once again.

  My body relaxed as I slipped into a more peaceful swimming pattern and let my mind drift away. I didn’t need to speak. I didn’t need to listen. I just was. I turned back towards the shore but began to move diagonally to the north. I knew this section of water well. Every rock outcropping, kelp bed, and reef was a marker on the map in my labyrinth of a mind. The ocean was calm today, allowing me to see nearly a hundred feet around. I stayed close to the bottom, rising and falling over the contours of the seascape.

  I was nearly to my destination when a shadow darted over my head. It caused me to stop and spin around so fast that my hair tangled in my face. As I struggled to move it away from my eyes, I tried to sense if something was around me. Although mermaids were pretty much at the top of the food chain in this part of the ocean, our natural animal instincts were hard to suppress.

  I closed my eyes and tried to listen for movement or feel for the electrical pulses all living creatures exude. Nothing. My hair was so wrapped up around my face that I kept my eyes closed and used both hands to separate the knotted mess. Finally, I broke free from my temporary imprisonment and when I opened my eyes, a large seal was staring at me just mere inches away from my face.

  While trying to stifle a scream, he looked into my eyes, cocked his head slightly, and blew a rush of bubbles into my face. I grabbed for him with both arms, trying to capture his massive body, but instead my hands just barely grazed his tail flippers. He slipped past me and darted to the surface. I raced after him while we both grabbed a quick breath, thinking that this was my chance to slow him down. But he was too quick, and before I could get my head back under the water, I felt a jolt against my stomach as he tried to toss me into the air.

  He failed and I was able to make a quick snatch of his side flipper that y
anked him back towards me. We twisted and turned and jockeyed around each other; each trying to get the upper hand. When we would get close to crashing into the sea floor, we’d change direction and struggle back towards the surface. It must have looked like a bubble torpedo oscillating through the vast emptiness with no target in its sites.

  I suddenly pulled free from the seal and took off as fast as I could towards the nearest kelp bed. He was too quick and managed to nip my tail just as I flitted into the great forest. We dodged and dived between the leaves. I was fast, but he was more agile with his sleek body shape.

  Sensing my imminent defeat, I tried one last maneuver. Wrapping my hands around the largest trunk of algae I could find, I used all of the strength in my arms to swing my body around behind it. The movement caught him by surprise and he was swimming too fast to correct for it. The seal sailed past me but before he could turn around, I bounded out with one powerful kick. Jetting over him, I encircled my arms around his neck and maneuvered my body over his back. He flipped around several times trying to knock me free, but I had him. I felt a laugh rumble through his body as he slowed to a casual swimming pace, ultimately conceding defeat. Smiling, I nestled my face against his neck as he carried me away.

  We came to a small rock island a few miles offshore. On the west side, a tiny gravel littered cove was nestled in between two high cliffs, effectively blocking the view to the east. The setting sun cast shards of orange, red, and purple against the volcanic sheets of rock like a giant gothic crystal prism. This side of the island was hidden from the shore. This side of the island was our sanctuary.

  I let go of my fury chariot and sat in the shallows while concentrating on my transition. Turning back into human form was always easier for me and in just a few moments I was walking on two legs again. I watched the seal hurl himself out of the water and onto the rocky shore. He glanced my way, snorted, and turned his back to me. In a move so graceful it could only be magical, the seal pushed back onto his hind flippers…and became a human.

  The fur coat fell from his body as he took a deep breath; his face upwards towards the cliff. Even from behind, he was breathtaking. We’ve known each other since we were kids and every time I saw him my heart jumped and my stomach fluttered. I started to move towards him, oblivious of my nakedness and captivated by his. It wasn’t an issue in our world and especially not at our sanctuary. The human body was just a part of who we were. He turned his head slightly and sighed, but I could see the smile from where I was.

  “I thought that we weren’t going to meet until tomorrow.” He shook his head. “You caught me off guard and bested me.”

  I was about to argue that he had surprised me too, but when he turned around to face me I froze. His tall, athletic build was just a fraction of what made me catch my breath. The tanned skin and dark hair complimented the sharp angles on his face and enhanced the mesmerizing green of his eyes. Since the first day I met him, he could overwhelm me with his smile. It was one of his best features. However, it was the way he looked at me that had captured my heart so many years ago. His laugh snapped me out of my temporary paralysis.

  “Have I bewildered you again, my sexy siren?”

  I smiled and closed the distance between us before he could speak again. We kissed for several minutes, exploring every surface of our human forms. I lost myself in him until reality came crashing back, knocking the breath away from me. I pulled away so suddenly, I almost tripped over my feet. Tears began to fill my eyes.

  “Eviana. What is it? What’s wrong?” He bent down towards me placing both hands on my arms to hold me up.

  “They did it Brendan! They have made the arrangements, and there’s nothing I can do about it!” I didn’t want to scream at him, but all of the emotion I’d pushed aside during our swim came flooding back. I hated them right now. “How could they do this to us?” I pleaded and slammed my arms down against my legs. “They have no right!”

  Brendan’s hands caressed my arms and then he pulled me in to his chest where I could burrow in his warmth. He sighed, kissed the top of my head, and rested his chin there for a while.

  A few moments passed before he calmly and stoically replied, “We knew that this day would come sometime. Now we will have to figure out what we are going to do about it.”

  “What we’re going to do about it? What we’re going to do about it? We’re going to run away from this place. So far away that they will never come after us. I will not live without you and I will not marry Kain!”

  “You can’t leave your clan Evs. Perhaps we could talk to them…”

  “Talk?” I replied, sounding very immature as I cut him off. “Don’t you think I already tried that? Marguerite will not listen to me. She doesn’t care about my feelings. “It is your duty Eviana. You will marry Kain and breed for the good of the clan”,” I imitated in a not-so-good impression of our leader.

  There were not many merfolk left in the world; therefore each clan would purposely arrange marriages and partnerships in order to keep the bloodline strong and healthy. Kain and I had been promised to each other since we were children. He grew up on the northern east coast, so I would only see him once a year during our gatherings. As we got older, he would visit California more often, being sure to partake in our clan’s hospitality each time.

  In all fairness, he would not have been a bad choice for someone. He was attractive, funny, and had been in love with me since we were five. He came from a line of leaders and always presented himself as such. Despite my subtle and palpable attempts to encourage him to find someone else, he never seemed to be interested in other girls. And my heart had always belonged to someone else.

  Brendan and I met when I was ten, during one of my clan’s trips to Seattle. I had just experienced my first transition and was still learning how to control my urges not to live permanently in the sea. Therefore I was a bit…moody. During the first few years, a young mermaid lives many lifetimes over while trying to manage the changes, the perils of puberty, and creating excuses for your friends as to why you can’t go to the beach with them anymore.

  My first years were hell. On this particular trip, I was behaving badly and Marguerite had sent me out of the house “until I knew what I was sorry for”. So, undoubtedly, my walk lasted for hours. I’d finally found a path and climbed down to the rocky beach, sprawling over top of a large boulder. At some point I must have fallen asleep to the rhythmic sounds of the ocean, because when I woke up, I was smothered by a seal as large as me. His strange green eyes were right above mine and he made no attempt to move away.

  He had weighed so much that I couldn’t push him off, yet I could still throw a punch. Hitting him right in the snout, I felt a wave of satisfaction as I heard a whelp escape the pup. He recovered quickly. So quickly, in fact, that before I knew what was happening, he’d grabbed my leg in his mouth and pulled me into the water with him.

  For a few brief moments I panicked. Not because I was under the water, but because I could already feel my bones begin to ache. While dealing with the terror of my impending transition and trying to disrobe underwater (which is not an easy task), that wretched little seal kept darting over me. He would slam into my shoulders, push against my back, and then swim in a circle around me so that I was trapped in the swirl of his wake.

  But the moment I got my clothes off, he stopped.

  Intent on not being an embarrassed, naked, prepubescent girl, I sunk deeper under the water and stubbornly turned to face him. I focused on his eyes as I felt my legs fuse and the scales appear, while trying to hide all traces of my mental discomfort and physical anguish. His reaction appeared to be humanlike, and I swear I caught him staring at my breasts. As he began to slink closer, I held my ground. When he swam around examining me like a freak show exhibit, I remained still. It wasn’t until the moment that he circled back to my face that I struck. Grabbing his neck and swinging my tail behind him, I wrapped my arms around his body and dug my hands into his blubbery folds. Just as I got
a decent grip, he took off.

  With my new tail, I was actually longer than him but he was much faster. We swam around for miles, jostling for the better position but never letting go of each other. When it was time for a rest, he took me to a secluded beach where we changed and talked for hours. We discovered what type of creatures we both were, learning that we had more in common than any of our friends could possibly understand.

  Brendan was a selkie. A shapeshifter of sorts, like me, but belonging to a totally different line of them. His transitions occurred when he placed the seal skin on his body and became one with it. Although he claimed that he didn’t feel quite the same intense call to the ocean as myself, he did admit that he needed to shift on a regular basis or risk getting sick. That’s why he’d been in the sea that day. It had been too long since his last transformation and he was feeling weak.

  Brendan’s father lived in the Pacific Northwest, and although he was only three years older than me, he would be left to fend for himself in another couple of years. When I tried to understand why he would leave is home so young, he moved on questions about me and my family.

  That beach became our world for a few hours. And that world contained just the two of us. My earlier acts of disobedience had led me to my first selkie, my first kiss, and my only true love.

  Over the next several years, we would write letters, send emails, talk on the phone, and make plans about our future together. When our families were visiting nearby, we would arrange to sneak out and spend hours together. Sometimes we would swim. Sometimes we would just lay in the sun and talk.

  Our lives molded together so perfectly that we simply tried to forget about our birthrights and duties and pretend that we could make this work. I wasn’t the only one promised to a life of breeding. Selkie men are required to seduce and impregnate human females since their species cannot reproduce amongst themselves. It was a life Brendan despised.